Eden Vital
by Reizna
Summary: The sequel to "His Arrogance". Riku gains the power to see into the wishes of people's hearts and bend them to his will. The best intentions somehow give way to evil deeds.


**Phase 01 » Thought Elevator**

It had been decided after that meeting. Riku met with the Mayor, stating he would open his home to C.C. The Mayor had been overjoyed. C.C., however, found this to be quite familiar. He had given her a room to stay in, but he seldom included her in his daily activities. The only times his friends had seen the two interact was during the boat ride to and from the Meeting Island.

C.C. didn't mind as much. She had grown used to watching them from a distance, but today, she had more bored than usual. The Grey Witch found herself wandering into a hole in the rocky wall near a waterfall.

She had felt drawn there.

The scar on her lower breast ached. The Geass sigil threatened to appear. These didn't happen unless…

"A wooden door?" She muttered when she reached the end of the tunnel. The Secret Place, as the others called it, was a rocky room with chalk drawings and roots sticking out along the walls. At the end was a door. Her gaze narrowed.

It was no ordinary door.

C.C. walked toward it and held out her hand. There was a force that expelled from the door. Immediately, she braced herself. The Geass sigil of a red crane shone on her forehead.

"It can't be…"

Memories of her past surfaced for an instant. Unwanted images returned from the back of her mind. A church with a nun dead on the ground, blood everywhere. C.C. herself bleeding to death before her wounds would heal. Then, crashing into the ocean twice and the pressure crushing her. A familiar face with purple-blueish eyes looking at her; he was extending his hand to her. Then, he was replaced with another: Riku.

"Hey -" a voice interrupted her thoughts.

C.C. turned around. Her expression returned to its indifferent one. She spotted Brown Spikes. There was a kind of air around him. Brown Spikes was connected to Riku. Perhaps, the same way as Suzaku was to Lelouch: the best of friends would end up as enemies. Perhaps, she thought, remembering the power of the king which she gave to Riku.

"Oh, Riku's looking for you." Brown Spikes said, grinning goofily. He was scratching the back of his head. Usually, Riku would have come himself to get her. C.C. folded her arms and mumbled a word of thanks before walking past him.

"It's a Thought Elevator." She muttered to herself. They wouldn't understand what that meant. Naïve children couldn't see the big picture here. It was then it dawned on her. These children would be drawn into the bigger story.

----

Riku had taken her home earlier than usual. It was two hours before sunset. Riku was working on dinner. She had wanted pizza. And well, he had all the ingredients. He might as well just give her a piece of her home to make her comfortable.

It was then he heard her.

"You know he reminds me of you."

Who was she talking to?

"That was no lie. There is only one you. You know this."

Herself?

"Riku. He wishes to be free."

She was alone in her new room. She had to be.

"Chains which bind him to this place called Destiny Islands."

Riku shook his head. She couldn't be crazy. Denial. He shrugged. She could be. Then again, she was called a witch.

"He sees the greatest wish in people's hearts and bends it to his will."

She mentioned his geass as she called it. It was his new power. A power Sora would never have. Only he had it.

"Direct eye contact."

That was how it functioned. He needed to look at people's eyes directly to see into their hearts and desires. He figured that's how it all worked. He tried it on Tidus to get him to shower Selphie with his love. He was eliminating some of his competition for Kairi's affections anyway. He thought about using his power on Sora, but then again, he had other means to prove he was better.

"Of course, they do not lie."

_Now, what was she saying?_

"C.C., who are you speaking to?" Riku asked. He was outside the door to her room now. C.C. looked out the window. It was almost sunset, meaning dinner time. She could have sworn she smelt pizza.

She shot up from bed and opened the door . Her face showed her casual indifference. "No one, Riku."

C.C. was confusing.

----

Much later on, Riku lay in his bed, all tucked in for the night. He turned to the side and looked out the window. It was dark outside and clouds were starting to loom over the Meeting Island. If it rained, it would make it much harder to take off on their raft. But what would become of C.C.? Riku turned over onto his side and glanced at the wall. She was quiet ever since he walked into her one-sided conversation and dinner.

She had been talking to herself. Was she really a witch? Or was she just plain crazy?

Speak of the devil.

He heard foot steps from the other room and a door opening. There was a creak from the old wooden floor and her light footsteps. If she was trying to be subtle, she was doing a horrible job at it. C.C. was demanding and didn't seem to care if she was causing trouble. Riku let out a sigh, throwing the covers over his face.

He was trying to get some sleep.

Then, he heard the front door open and C.C. speak. Her voice was faint though, as if she was moving further and further away.

"I see. The door's opening?"

There was a pause. And Riku did what he thought was right. He ran after her, only to see her moving toward his raft on the dock. Her lips were moving, but the words were becoming a different dialect --- perhaps, a language from her homeland. He only assumed so as he ran after her.

"Hey, you can't take my-"

"Your destiny lies beyond there." C.C. pointed toward the Meeting Island. Her expression was indifferent, never changing under his gaze. She seemed to know something that he didn't. "The door is opening. The door to another world. Will you step through it?"

Without another word, they were off. Riku was rowing toward the destined place. C.C, was staring deeply into the water. Her red bird sigil burned against her pale forehead. She was breathing deeply as she moved her hands to hold her head. Her innate power was reacting to the door --- the Thought Elevator. Someone of the same power was opening it. Just then, the sea grew violent and threw the witch overboard.

She was able to swim but something was preventing her from kicking. She had gotten to the point where she didn't feel the coldness of the black water, now only feeling almost weighless. As if she wasn't drowning, but getting tired. Before she blacked out, C.C. reached out and spoke a single name. "Le-louch…"

In the darkness, someone reached out for her, catching her hand in his pale, thin one. Subconsciously, C.C. gripped the hand as if it was a hand of a familiar person, almost like one would do for a lover.

---

The darkness gave way beneath him, but when Riku came to, he found himself on the mini-island where he and Sora would usually duel. He saw brown spikes running toward him. All the while, the darkness was whispering to him.

_Ask him to come with you. You two have a great power asleep with you._

Riku snapped back to the voice. 'No, but I have Geass!'

_Your friend does not. You two are capable to wielding another great power. The keyblade. Tell him to come with you. Join us in darkness._

"Riku!" Sora was yelling.

"Sora, the door has opened. I'm going to take this road." Riku extended his hand, urging his best friend to come with him. His aquamarine eyes were met with sapphire eyes, which were filled with fear. That was when he remembered that worried look.

"Riku? What are you talking about?"

"Come with me." He urged, forgetting about Kairi. After all, he was getting his wish. He was going to see other worlds. He would go no matter what.

"What about Kairi?" Sora demanded.

_The girl will be safe. Do not worry._

"She'll be fine." Riku replied, suddenly trusting the disembodied voice. He urged his friend to come with him, but something told Riku that his mind was elsewhere. Suddenly, his eye started to sting as the aquamarine faded to dark violet with a red bird. Everything went black except for himself and Sora. Riku strained his eyesight to look deep into Sora's eyes -- into his heart. He needed to see his friend's deepest wish.

Riku saw an image of Kairi clinging onto Sora's arm and giggling about something. Then, there was an image of Riku himself, walking behind them, looking utterly defeated. Riku broke direct eye contact before even using the other part of his Geass. He knew there was some kind of rivalry between him and Sora, but he never harbored feelings like that ever.

'Sora…this is war.' With that thought, Riku withdrew his hand and stepped into the pool of darkness at the heart of the mini-island. Sora's eyes widened and he ran after Riku, but it was too late. There was a bright light following Riku's disappearance into the shadows. There was an oversized key where Riku used to be. It's design was simple, even the colors of silver, blue and gold added to its simplistic look. Sora grabbed onto it and then, the shadow creatures came to devour his home world. He rushed to use the key as his weapon, but he stumbled on his way across the wooden bridge. And the darkness surrounded him as well.

---

That went well. Or so I thought.

**Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and Code Geass don't belong to me.**

Please read and review.


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